Just a quick note to announce the winner of the Winter Wonderland Sticker Giveaway. Thank you all for the sweet comments you left here and on the Joli Paquet blog. All the artists associated with Joli Paquet are truly grateful to everyone for your kind words and support of our holiday crafting event. We'll be sure to keep you posted about any future Joli Paquet events.

And now for the lucky winner. . . . .. . . It's Priscila from Casa Bella Chic!

Priscila said...
I'm so happy that I could join this month with you girls! You have been an inspiration to me and my crafty little hands! I've had lots of fun here and maybe you should all more tutorials for valentines and easter...for each holiday?!!! That would be fun!!!
xoxo
PS. I would love to win the giveaway...:)

Congratulations Priscila!

2nd Annual Cookie Swap

That bubbly, Barbie-Lovin' Jessi Nagy is at it again. Last year she hosted the most wonderful online Cookie Swap and guess what? She's doing it again!! The best part about a virtual cookie exchange is that you don't have to actually bake and package the cookies. So grab a cup of coffee (or tea or holiday cheer) and click here to find the links to all the tasty treats.

The recipe I'm sharing for Spritz Cookies is one that has been in my family for four generations. I used to love helping my Norweigan grandmother make these (and other) cookies at her white oilcloth covered kitchen table every Christmas. She used to have huge tins of a variety of cookies on hand during the holidays to serve to guests who would stop by for afternoon coffee. Grandma was always the consummate hostess, especially at Christmastime. Although people make these cookies in a variety of shapes, Grandma used to always make them in the shape of S's and O's.

* * * * *

Grandma Friis Spritz Butter Cookies

~ Photo courtesy of Larsen Bakery ~

1/2 lb butter

2/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg yolks and extracts. Mix in flour. Put through cookie press to desired shape. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes 6 dozen cookies.

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas

Photo Courtesy of Tim Holtz

If you're having withdrawal symptoms from Joli Paquet being over, you may want to check out TIm Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas. He is posting a new tag tutorial on his blog each day AND a giveaway to boot! You just can't beat fun like that during the holidays!

Photo Courtesy of Tim Holtz

And if you like what you see (and have lots of spare time on your hands), you may also want to check out the 12 Tags of Christmas that Tim did last year here. Photo Courtesy of Tim Holtz

By the way, you can still sign up for my giveaway by posting a comment here or here. I'll be drawing the lucky winner's name at the end of the week.

WInter Wonderland Giveaway

Did everyone eat as much as I did during the past few days? I can barely move and don't really care if I see another morsel of food for a good long time! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with family reflecting upon all there is to be grateful for.

For the first time in several years, I didn't get up before dawn to stand in long lines out in freezing cold weather just to get a bargain or two. Instead I stayed home, got out my art supplies and worked on crafty things. What fun it was to work leisurely at my desk with tinsel and glitter and pretty papers instead of fighting my way through mobs of shoppers.

To continue with the holiday festivites, I thought it would be fun to host a little giveaway. If you're the lucky winner I will send you this pack of 64 pastel Cavallini & Co holiday stickers. Just leave a comment on this post or at the Joli Paquet blog here and I will draw the winning name at the end of the week. Good luck!

A Thanksgiving Greeting

Thanksgiving

by Lizelia Moorer

Thankful for all things let us be,

Though there be woes and misery;

Lessons they bring us for our good-

Later 'twill all be understood.

Thankful for peace o'er land and sea,

Thankful for signs of liberty,

Thankful for homes, for life and health,

Pleasure and plenty, fame and wealth.

Thankful for friends and loved ones, too,

Thankful for all things, good and true,

Thankful for harvest in the fall,

Thankful to Him who gave it all.

~

From The Secret:

"Thank you" - two words, inconceivable potential power,

and all they need is you to put the power into them by expressing them."

So....THANK YOU to all of you ~ my wonderful, generous, creative friends!

xoxo

jeanne

Wedding Day Memories, Part Deux

Here I am as promised with more photos from my daughter's wedding. As I said before, the florist we chose produced the most beautiful flower arrangements that we could have ever imagined. Pictures of the bride and bridesmaid's bouquets are shown in the previous post. Below are some of the other flowers from the ceremony and reception. We had requested blue-green hydrangeas to be used, not even knowing if they would be available for a November wedding. I learned that basically you can have any flower at any time of the year because flowers can be shipped in from all over the world. I don't know where these came from, but they certainly were exactly what we requested. ~Table Centerpieces~

~Hydrangea Topiaries~

~ Arrangements on the Wedding Party Table~

A typical element of wedding ceremonies in our area is the lighting of the unity candle. Natalie and Jon opted for what the pastor referred to as a Sand Ceremony, which involves the same sort of idea but with a twist. Below is part of what the Pastor said during the ceremony which explains this ritual further.

"May your love always be as constant as the never-ending waves, flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea. Just as the waters touch and nourish the many shores of the earth, may your love be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Just as there will never be a morning without the ocean’s flow, there will never be a day without your love for each other. You have just sealed your relationship by the giving and receiving of rings. This beautiful union is symbolized through the combining of these two individual jars of sand.
The first jar represents you, Natalie, in all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be, and the other jar represents you, Jon, in all that you were, all that you are and all that you will ever be. Each one holds its own unique beauty, strength, and character. They can stand on their own and be whole, without need of anything else. However when these two are blended together they create an entirely new and extraordinarily more intricate entity. Each grain of sand brings to the mixture a lasting beauty that forever enriches the combination. When you pour the sand into this common container, it symbolizes the union of your two lives. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be a molding of two individual personalities, bonded together forming one heart, one love. The life that each of you experienced now, individually, will hereafter be inseparably united, for the two shall become one."

~Jar with the two colors of sand mixed together~

The bride and groom are not big fans of cake (who's kids are they with that kind of thinking) and they wanted to have something they would both enjoy. Throughout the many years of dating, Natalie made a ton of cupcakes for Jon. So they decided they wanted to have cupcakes instead of a wedding cake. . .

So the bakery happily accomodated their request. . .

During the reception there was lots of silliness taking place. . .

My daughter had warned me that she was going to change into her cowboy boots after the ceremony. Here she is revealing her little secret surprise.

And her new husband (on the right) danced to a favorite song with one of his groomsmen!

Many of you asked to see a picture of the Mother of the Bride, so here you go. . .

Next time I'll post about some of the handmade things we created just for the wedding.

I've received so many wonderful comments from all of you about how much you are enjoying the Joli Paquet blog, tutorials and tips. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to let us know how much you like it. We are in our final week of this year's Joli Paquet, so if you haven't stopped over there yet, you really should go check it out. Cindy showed us how to make the cutest garland here. Beth posted a yummy recipe for egg nog here. And Brandy just posted how to turn a vintage tin box into an adorable ornament here.

A Day of Sweet Memories

It all seems like a dream now, but only 2 short weeks ago our darling daughter ~ our little girl ~ our only child was married. A year of planning and preparing and it all went by so quickly. It seems like things started out slowly over a year ago when Natalie told us Jon asked her to marry him. They had been dating for 5 years at that time. Soon after the proposal, the prep began for the major things like securing a venue for the wedding and reception, the music, the photographer, the dress, etc. Then, for what seemed like forever, things just seemed to stand still. And all of a sudden, about two months before the wedding, the whirlwind of all the little details and deadlines started to make my head spin. The details are the part that I love to work on ~ you know, the little things that when put together create the aura, the look, the feeling that you want the evening to exude. But the details are the part of the planning that can be exhausting and stressful because you want everything to be just right for this one special day in your little girl's life.

The wedding gown Natalie picked out was magical ~ like something a fairy princess would wear. Afterall she is OUR princess and always will be. All of the flowers were amazing. . .Natalie's bouquet was exquisite. The cream roses, calla lilies, and hydrangeas matched the champagne color of her dress beautifully and the brownish foliage added the perfect touch for a fall wedding. The florist was such a joy to work with. She understood exactly what we wanted and "got it" right away with out hardly any explanation at all. Even her proposal was a piece of art, as it was handwritten in the most beautiful penmanship. For us, flowers are such an important part of a wedding. My own wedding flowers (many moons ago) were the most beautiful that I had ever seen ~ until my daughter's wedding, that is. The bridsmaids wore beautiful truffle brown dresses with sweetheart necklines and the best part of all. . .pockets hidden in the side-seams!

I made the necklaces and earrings for the girls using pacific opals, freshwater pearls and a single wire wrapped Amazonite pendant.
And more bouquets of cream roses and these have blue-green hydrangeas and foliage all elegantly ribbon wrapped. These bouquets lasted a full 10 days and have dried into the most beautiful arrangements which I have sitting in mercury glass bowl vases in my studio. Lucky for us, a couple of the bridesmaids left their bouquets behind at the reception, so both Natalie and I have them to treasure.
I'll have more to share in the upcoming days, so stay tuned. . . .

I can't believe the enthusiastic response you all have had to the kits I put together for Joli Paquet.

Thank you SO much. . . .you guys are the best! I've listed a couple more kits in my Etsy Shop and I have a few more that I can put together this weekend if you know anyone who still wants one.

Today I was busy packing up the ornaments I made for the swap my friend Heather from Speckled Egg has been organizing. We couldn't decide on just one theme for the swap, so our "assignment" turned into a combination of our favorites ~ create an ornament that is a little vintage, a little glittery and all done up in pastel colors. I can't wait to see what everyone dreamed up!

Huge Hugs!

You guys are awesome! What a wonderful response you had to my Joli Paquet kits that went on sale yesterday. I was truly blown away - thank you all SO very much! There still are a few kits left, so if you didn't get one yesterday, you still can nab one today right here.

And today is MY turn to post on the Joli Paquet blog. I am sharing a delicious recipe for truffles and a cute little way to package them for the holidays. I made these same truffles for our daughter's wedding last Saturday (wow~she's been a Mrs. for one whole week already!) and next week I'll share with you how I decorated the same favor boxes for the wedding guests.
I'm going to spend the weekend trying to weed thru my studio. . .yet, again! It's in dire need of another clean & purge session as I can barely see any of the floor at all! That's what happens when you are so busy creating (aka making a mess) you have no time to clean up before a houseful of people show up on your doorstep. I need to start doing Peter Walsh's Trash Bag Tango pronto!

Today's The Day ~ Joli Paquet Kit Sales

It's finally here! The day you and I have been waiting for with much anticipation. The Joli Paquet gals have all been busy in their workshops creating some wonderful holiday kits for you to make for your home or as a gift. I've already seen the kits and there are some really fabulous pretties available at this event, I know I won't be able to resist buying a few of the kits myself.

Pictured below are the two kits that I am selling in my Etsy Shop. The other artists participating in this event are will be selling their kits either at their Web Boutiques or in their Etsy Shops. For a complete list of participants click here.

My first kit is called Snowbird Cottage. This can be made either as an ornament or a table top decoration. Beautiful decorative papers in shades of pale pink, blue, aqua and white. Lots of glitter (included in the kit!) makes the cottage and the bird shimmer as if they are in the middle of a snowstorm! My second kit is called Glitter & Holly Tussie Mussie. This kit features beautiful holly paper covered in shades of soft greens and rich reds. Velvet ribbon, pleated rosette, ice covered nest and a darling glittery red bird.

Everything you need to make these decorations is included in the kits, including full color instructions. All you have to add are a few basic tools like scissors, glue, etc and a bit of spare time. I know it's going to be difficult to decide which kits to buy. . .so why don't you follow my humble suggestion and buy one of each! You can purchase my kits by clicking here ~ Happy Holidays and Happy Creating!

P.S. Don't forget that the Joli Paquet Blog will continue the entire month with tutorials, holiday tips, recipes, etc.

Joli Paquet Sneeky Peeks

Well, guess what gals? I thought I would tease you all with a couple of sneek peeks of the kits I will be selling for Joli Paquet beginning Friday, November 14th! The group of gals participating in this event are simply oozing with talent so you can expect a whole variety of fun and inspirational kits for you to put together during this holiday season. As far as my kits go, you can just imagine about how "tweet" they will look in your homes! That's all I'm saying for now. . . . . . stay tuned!

Last night my DH and I went with some friends to see Jersey Boys. I think we must be the last people on earth to see this musical. Oh, the music was so great, lively and nostalgic. We sat in the balcony along with a whole group of college kids. . .I wonder if they had ever even heard any of the songs? They seemed to enjoy it just as much as us old fogies did though.

Wedding Day R & R

As some of you know, our darling daughter was married on Saturday in the most beautiful ceremony and reception ever! Of course being the mother-of-the-bride I do tend to be a bit biased! All the fret and worry about how everything would turn out was for nothing because the day went by without a hitch. Hard to believe, because something unexpected usually always happens at these kinds of things. We are spending the next couple of days relaxing and recuperating with out of town friends and then I'll be sure to have some photos of the big day to share with all of you. In the meantime, I hope you all have been keeping up with the Joli Paquet Blog and all the glittery goodness that the gals are posting over there. I can't wait to try out some of their tutorials.

Time To Choose

It's finally here - Election Day 2008. Does anyone feel like I do and think this was the all time l-o-n-g-e-s-t Presidential campaign of all time? But this is the day - our time to make a choice. Republican or Democrat. . . Liberal or Conservative. . .Red State or Blue. . .it doesn't matter which you prefer. The important thing is to get yourself over to the polling place and VOTE! Let's make this year one for the record books - not because of color or gender. Let's make this the year of the largest voter turnout in history!

Happy Belated Birthday!

Yesterday (November 2, 1755) was Marie Antoinette's Birthday and sweet blogger Joy from Cupid's Charm hosted a birthday soiree in honor of the Queen's special day. With all the commotion of water flooding my house, it completely slipped my mind to post my pic. I hope you all will forgive me for being a little late. And if you want to treat yourself to lots of yummy and luscious eye candy, go on over to Joy's blog where she has a list with links to all the party participants! Happy Birthday Marie!!!

And The Fun Continues. . .

OMG! Wasn't Lori's Snowman Box on the Joli Paquet Blog the cutest? I've seen boxes like that in the stores and am thrilled to know how to make them myself now! Thanks so much for sharing this technique with us Lori.

Angelina Mast is posting a yummy family recipe today over at Joli Paquet. Go on over and see for yourself right here and be sure to enter Cindy's Giveaway while you are there!

I can't believe the mess we came home to tonight after making a quick trip up to the cottage. Evidently a pipe connection broke on our water line in back of the washing machine resulting in a huge flood in my laundry room, utility room and hallway. Needless to say, my family room looks a cyclone hit it with all the stuff draped all over drying out! I have two fans are working overtime and I am hoping that the wood flooring in the hallway isn't a lost cause. The way things look around here you'd never believe that we are having a wedding in the family this Saturday. I'm hoping my handy DH will be able to fix it before he goes to work tomorrow so I will have some water to mop the floors with disinfectant cleaner! Update - Good News! My hubby was able to get the part and fix the pipe before going in to work this morning. Now it's up to me to clean up afterwards.

Joli Paquet Launch

Hooray!Hooray! ~ It's finally here! The Joli Paquet month long Holiday Event starts TODAY!!
Lori Karla from My Fairie Window is sharing a wonderful tutorial with us all, so be sure to check it out. Remember, it is FREE to everyone ~ our gift to you! Here's a little sneak peek from Lori....hmm, I wonder what it could be???

Also Cindy Gilstrap, another one of our Joli Paquet artists, is hosting a giveaway on the Joli Paquet blog so hurry and get yourself over there right now and leave a comment here to enter!.

On a sadder note, my good friend Karin from Creative Chaos could use some cheering up. If you have time, please stop by her blog to send her some good wishes. She is always making everyone laugh and smile, so now it's time for us to return the favor!

No Tricks, Just Treats!

Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope you have LOTS of treats ready so that the little goblins don't get ya! I can remember as a child how the excitement of Halloween was always such fun. That is if you don't mention the amount of times that it was cold or rainy or both here in the midwest and we had to cover our costumes up with winter coats. Bummer! Definitely not quite as thrilling as running up and down the streets, going door-to-door in your spiffy pirate costume or pretty princess ballgown. But the end result - big bags full of candy - was the same, so who's complaining?

And if you're too tired to get out the carving knife to turn your pumpkin into a Jack-o-lantern, you may want to try your hand at virtual pumplin carving here.

And after all the spooks are finished haunting your house, don't forget to visit the Joli Paquet blog. All the wonderful glitz and sparkle begins tomorrow - November 1st!!!! Lori Karla from My Fairie Window has something fabulous lined up to launch our special holiday event.

Only 12 More Days!

I can't believe it's only 12 more days until our little girl gets married! And I am not at all ready....what else is new, huh? There's still so much to do! I realize that all these months leading up to the big day there really isn't a lot you can do, because everything that needs to be done all has to be done at the last minute. Yikes...I wonder if we'll have everything ready in time?

Saturday her friends threw her a bachelorette party (that's our little girl wearing the huge light up diamond ring and "bachelorette" sash!) at Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant and then on to Sundance Saloon for a night of country music and line-dancing.

I made this little card to go with my gift from a vintage lingerie advertisement I found online. Lot's of hot pink and black seemed to be the colors of the evening. Ah, to be young again. . . . .

How Cool Is This?

For those who are fans of Stampington Publications, the new issue of Somerset Studio (Nov/Dec) is on the news stands now. As usual it is filled with wonderful artwork and inspiration of the likes of Beth Quinn, Amy Hanna, Misty Mawn, and Tricia Scott and others. A while back I can remember reading an entry on Tricia's blog about finally getting up the nerve to send a box of her artwork into Stampington. That post really resonated with me and was the impetus which gave me the courage to answer a call-for-art and send in a few pieces of my own artwork. And lo and behold much to my delight, I opened the magazine yesterday and found two of my own ornaments featured in this highly regarded publication. (pages 105 & 108) It is truly an honor to have my art alongside the work of so many talented artists in this magazine which I have treasured for so many years.
Many thanks to Jenny Doh, Jennifer Jackson and the others at Somerset Studio magazine for taking the time to consider my humble submissions for publication.

Campaign for Creativity

I found this on Donna Downey's blog the other day and it really hit a chord with me so I thought I would share her message with all of you. Donna says, "Inspiration and possibility are everywhere...it can be found in everything we do, share and see. The possibility is our part in manifesting it into tangible art. All we need to do is open our hearts and eyes and listen to our creative voice. The challenge is to learn to embrace your creative potential and let it free to guide your art . The power of our passion to create is the gift we all have to share."

Let's all join Donna in this personal Campaign for Creativity and share this message with others.